It's the end of an era, as the long-serving voice of Peppa Pig has decided to step down from the role after more than a decade.
18-year-old Harley Bird has announced that she will no longer be playing the title character in the mega-hit children's cartoon, after first taking on the role at the age of five.
"Becoming the voice of Peppa Pig at the age of five was the start of an incredible journey, and I'll never forget my time on the show," she said (via BBC News), adding that her co-stars had "become like a family" and had given her "unforgettable memories".
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Peppa Pig co-creators Neville Astley and Mark Baker also had nothing but praise for Bird, saying: "As our longest-standing Peppa, Harley's award-winning contribution to the show over the past 13 years has been tremendous, making her a key part of the success of Peppa Pig."
The role has brought great success for Bird, who won a BAFTA for playing Peppa in 2011 and performed songs for Peppa Pig: My First Album.
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The role of Peppa will be taken over by 9-year-old Amelie Bea Smith, the fourth actress to play the character, and she can first be heard in the episode airing on Valentine's Day.
Smith, who also starred in several EastEnders episodes in 2018 and 2019 as Daisy, a foster child of Arshad and Mariam Ahmed, will have her voice heard in all territories that show episodes in English, including the UK, the US and Australia.
Smith is also soon due to star in The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix.
Luckily, she hasn't been put off by the terrifying sight of a front-facing Peppa...
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Reporter & Sub-Editor, Digital Spy Susannah is a freelance writer and sub-editor, specialising in the entertainment industry. She graduated in 2014, with a BA in English and American Literature and Creative Writing, and an MA in Creative Producing. She’s been writing for Digital Spy ever since, after first getting involved through work experience, and has written hundreds of stories for the site on a range of topics, from The Sims to Doctor Who. Susannah has also written for Reveal Magazine. Her special interests are soaps (her Mastermind subject would be 2000s Coronation Street), Marvel and Star Wars. She can also quote far too many lines from Friends and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
